back-scatter radiation

Australian pilots are monitoring moves by their American counterparts who have been told to boycott controversial full-body scanners that capture images of a passenger’s naked body. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents more than 12,000 pilots in the US, says the security devices at airports pose serious health risks and breach privacy.

With the technology soon to be introduced in Australia, the vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), Captain Richard Woodward, says pilots here have similar concerns. “The principal issue is not only privacy. It’s total radiation exposure,” he said. “The allowable limit for radiation workers is 20 mSv per annum. And the average pilot, depending on where they’re flying, gets between three and six.